Mortimer Zuckerman is rich...I mean really rich. He's made his millions by being an entrepreneurial minded (in addition to a real estate tycoon, publisher and editor of major east coast magazines) so naturally he has a powerful voice...hopefully Washington can hear it!
On February 26th he published a story about Obama Needs to Focus on Housing, Not Health Reform, and if you know me you understand why this voice is so important. Although he has some potential personal gain being a billionaire real estate developer, his points are accurate and articulate why this is a far bigger issue than the creation of a NEW health care plan; "Hey Washington, fix the problems at hand first before creating more new ones!"
Thank you Mort, despite being the complete opposite of me (a ladies man and having money), we see eye-to-eye here!
Showing posts with label housing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housing. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, May 11, 2009
BAIL OUT: Round ???
Unbelievable...specifically though I am going to focus on the banks;
The latest articles has BOA and Citi screaming for more funds. BOA is said to "need $34 billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn", yet "has already received $45 billion of government help"...Tough Shit!
Yes, this has struck a cord with me and for a long time I debated not writing about my current situation but the time has come...
TIMELINE
2004-Purchased a beautiful 2BD/2BA condo on an 80/20 loan from Wells Fargo
2005-Refinanced with a 'douche bag' loan shark (husband of my wife former employee) that slipped in an Interest only loan unannounced to me. Yes I trusted a mutual friend and banker...stupid I know I'll learn!
2006-Attempted to sell the condo after an inflated market drove our price up to nearly double what we paid. Awesome until....the market dropped quicker than we could drop our price
2007-Decided to rent our property
2008-REAL ESTATE takes the ultimate plunge and equally sized condos quickly are being placed in foreclosure or bankruptcy in our complex for half of what we paid
DO THE MATH: Yes you read correctly...hypothetically lets say we paid $100 for our house, which inflated to $200 and is now priced with foreclosures and bankruptcy at $50. Your starting to see my frustration with the banks.
The banks created loans for people who couldn't afford homes, and so more people with more loans = more money for the banks. Now the government is throwing money at the banks to help them stay afloat = more money for banks...meanwhile people foreclose and go bankrupt driving current real estate prices through the floor. We are seeing the next problem with banks now too stingy to loan or refinance people, even the responsible people, to hopefully avoid more foreclosure or bankruptcy's. Well, their cry for more money is not being heard by me...let them fail! Many of us will still be in the same situation either way regarding our loan headaches...heck, we may even be better off when they go under!
The latest articles has BOA and Citi screaming for more funds. BOA is said to "need $34 billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn", yet "has already received $45 billion of government help"...Tough Shit!
Yes, this has struck a cord with me and for a long time I debated not writing about my current situation but the time has come...
TIMELINE
2004-Purchased a beautiful 2BD/2BA condo on an 80/20 loan from Wells Fargo
2005-Refinanced with a 'douche bag' loan shark (husband of my wife former employee) that slipped in an Interest only loan unannounced to me. Yes I trusted a mutual friend and banker...stupid I know I'll learn!
2006-Attempted to sell the condo after an inflated market drove our price up to nearly double what we paid. Awesome until....the market dropped quicker than we could drop our price
2007-Decided to rent our property
2008-REAL ESTATE takes the ultimate plunge and equally sized condos quickly are being placed in foreclosure or bankruptcy in our complex for half of what we paid
DO THE MATH: Yes you read correctly...hypothetically lets say we paid $100 for our house, which inflated to $200 and is now priced with foreclosures and bankruptcy at $50. Your starting to see my frustration with the banks.
The banks created loans for people who couldn't afford homes, and so more people with more loans = more money for the banks. Now the government is throwing money at the banks to help them stay afloat = more money for banks...meanwhile people foreclose and go bankrupt driving current real estate prices through the floor. We are seeing the next problem with banks now too stingy to loan or refinance people, even the responsible people, to hopefully avoid more foreclosure or bankruptcy's. Well, their cry for more money is not being heard by me...let them fail! Many of us will still be in the same situation either way regarding our loan headaches...heck, we may even be better off when they go under!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Cadillac Desert
My return to the Cadillac Desert (Arizona) this past weekend wasn't a trip done for some R & R, instead it was a 48 hour working binge!
To take you through the roller coaster of emotions here is what happened...
Our condo, and former home, was reported trashed and unfit for anyone to move into. So after receiving this disappointing news on Thursday morning, we quickly bought 2 flights to AZ leaving that same night. We landed about 8pm, and drove straight to the condo to assess the situation. It definitely wasn't fit to move in, but was far better than I had imagined. We painted, cleaned, fixed, and got it in tip-top shape just in time for our new tenant!
As we reflected on our trip we came to a few conclusions;
To take you through the roller coaster of emotions here is what happened...
Our condo, and former home, was reported trashed and unfit for anyone to move into. So after receiving this disappointing news on Thursday morning, we quickly bought 2 flights to AZ leaving that same night. We landed about 8pm, and drove straight to the condo to assess the situation. It definitely wasn't fit to move in, but was far better than I had imagined. We painted, cleaned, fixed, and got it in tip-top shape just in time for our new tenant!
As we reflected on our trip we came to a few conclusions;
- Damn was that expensive
- Wow, I really miss the winters in Arizona
- It is tough being away from the kids
- Our family is amazing*
*I need to explain how amazing our family is...First, Grandma and Grandpa took the kids cancelling whatever else they had planned. Next, we arrived to open arms (and a very tasty Pumpkin Brew) for which the Brew Master and his wife (Tia) provided room, board, a car, supplies to fix the home, and always great conversation. Finally, we enjoyed a perfect meal; from conversation, to the people we were with, and yes the food too! This potentially disastrous trip was actually rather amazing, and I don't think I could have said that had it not been for our family. So in a weird twist of events and despite the expenses accrued, I am actually happy this all happened the way it did.
Thank you!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Half-Million Dollar Views
Thought this was an interesting photo of the Riverwalk in Grafton, where about 2 years ago they built $500,000 condo's with walkout access to the riverwalk. Ouch, check out more photo's from this storm at JSOnline
Waterpark Capital of the World - Drained
Well not exactly are the water parks empty, but a major tourist destination in the Dells is. Lake Delton, home to the Tommy Bartlett Thrill Show, has overflowed taking with it peoples homes and dreams of a peaceful summer on the lake.
It is truly sad yet awesome to see the power mother nature once again shows us she has. No matter how many damns, levy's, or protective barriers we put in place, she reminds us that nothing can stand in her way. We pray for the people in these situations and are glad to know it is only material things that were lost in this disaster.
On a personal note, my in-laws who live on the Milwaukee River are experiencing a record high and thank god to this point haven't lost much more than a couple hours of sleep. It is times like this that I think of what Noah had to face on his ark, and we are only seeing about 1/1,000,000,000 (maybe more) of what he saw.
It is truly sad yet awesome to see the power mother nature once again shows us she has. No matter how many damns, levy's, or protective barriers we put in place, she reminds us that nothing can stand in her way. We pray for the people in these situations and are glad to know it is only material things that were lost in this disaster.
On a personal note, my in-laws who live on the Milwaukee River are experiencing a record high and thank god to this point haven't lost much more than a couple hours of sleep. It is times like this that I think of what Noah had to face on his ark, and we are only seeing about 1/1,000,000,000 (maybe more) of what he saw.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Only today: Going Green
Depending on who you see as the founder of Earth Day and where abouts you might live may depend on when you actually celebrate the Earth. Regardless if you credit John McConnell, which then signifies you (along with the United Nations) celebrate it on the March Equinox; or you credit Gaylord Nelson who was a Wisconsin senator and most noted for the Earth Day celebration on April 22, you are doing your "green-duty"...or are you?
This is not a rant to tell you what you should be doing to save the planet, or to save money because if you wanted that you'd visit sites like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the U.S. Department of Energy, or just tune into HGTV. I think it is more important to share with you about companies, people, and places that are headed in the right direction.
Companies:
Continental (American): Spent $16 billion to become more efficient
-reducing emissions by 5%
-reduced the nitrogen oxide output from ground equipment by over 75%
S.C. Johnson (American-Wisconsin)
-eliminated millions of pounds of waste from product
-building power plant that is fueled from a landfill
Patagonia (American)
-the entire mission has been based on the quote "There is no business to be done on a dead planet"
Subaru (Japanese)
-zero waste landfill
People:
Elon Musk (South Africa)
-entrepreneur that is taking on the auto industry with cars like the Tesla Roadster, a sports car that reaches 60 mph in less than four seconds, and can go 220 per charge...puts the water cooler debate of speed and distance in electric cars to a hush (minus the $100+k price tag)
Robin Murray (UK)
-industrial economist coining the "zero-waste" phrase and argues that one mans trash is another man's resource (consuming everything your discard)
...and a list containing many more people can be found through a weekly UK publication called the Guardian
Places:
Reykjavik, Iceland
-good old green Iceland has runs hydrogen buses and its electricity and heat come from geothermal and hydro power sources
Portland, Oregon
-a model for new public/green transportation, not to mention it has 92,000 acres of green
...and quite a few more places in the world according to the Grist
Basically be conscious and smart about what you do from an environmental perspective. It's not a new concept and we don't need stupid politicians to tell us what to do and how to do it, your an adult figure it out. After all if we don't, the way you see nature today may not stay that way for long!
This is not a rant to tell you what you should be doing to save the planet, or to save money because if you wanted that you'd visit sites like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the U.S. Department of Energy, or just tune into HGTV. I think it is more important to share with you about companies, people, and places that are headed in the right direction.
Companies:
Continental (American): Spent $16 billion to become more efficient
-reducing emissions by 5%
-reduced the nitrogen oxide output from ground equipment by over 75%
S.C. Johnson (American-Wisconsin)
-eliminated millions of pounds of waste from product
-building power plant that is fueled from a landfill
Patagonia (American)
-the entire mission has been based on the quote "There is no business to be done on a dead planet"
Subaru (Japanese)
-zero waste landfill
People:
Elon Musk (South Africa)
-entrepreneur that is taking on the auto industry with cars like the Tesla Roadster, a sports car that reaches 60 mph in less than four seconds, and can go 220 per charge...puts the water cooler debate of speed and distance in electric cars to a hush (minus the $100+k price tag)
Robin Murray (UK)
-industrial economist coining the "zero-waste" phrase and argues that one mans trash is another man's resource (consuming everything your discard)
...and a list containing many more people can be found through a weekly UK publication called the Guardian
Places:
Reykjavik, Iceland
-good old green Iceland has runs hydrogen buses and its electricity and heat come from geothermal and hydro power sources
Portland, Oregon
-a model for new public/green transportation, not to mention it has 92,000 acres of green
...and quite a few more places in the world according to the Grist
Basically be conscious and smart about what you do from an environmental perspective. It's not a new concept and we don't need stupid politicians to tell us what to do and how to do it, your an adult figure it out. After all if we don't, the way you see nature today may not stay that way for long!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Paycheck to Paycheck
No matter how much you make or how little you make, you will use the phrase "paycheck to paycheck." So why does it seem so different as compared to nearly 30 years ago when my parents were raising a family of 3 on a modest middle class wage? The answer, still boggles many of my social circles today...but let's look at a few of the facts we have uncovered:
First of all, the late 70's provided a time when a average salary of $40,000 could get you into a nice home. For example, in the Midwest, in a nice suburb outside the city limits you could get a 2000 sqft. home with 4 bd. 2 ba for around $100,000. Today that same house with some updates will now command a price tag of up near $300,000 (and that's conservative). Yep...that is where we are today. Now instead of jumping 30's ahead, lets go 30's back into the late 1940's. Now granted a house of these proportions were few and far between but the standard Craftsmen Cape Cod style homes were around $50,000. So let's summarize;
- 1948-$50,000
- 1978-$100,000
- 2008-$300,000
does this make sense to anyone...please explain!
Next, in 1980 my parents never had a computer and therefore had no internet. No computers means that they didn't do online shopping($xxx/mos.), and would not have had a monthly internet service($60/mos) either. I am going to go out on a limb and say that this saved them about $1500 annually (not including the overall investment of a computer).Another is the constant need for things. I like things they make me go fast, feel cool, look good...so what's wrong with that. For some of us nothing is wrong with it, but it teeters a fine line called GREED! Greed tends to lead us into battles of financial mayhem. Let's take the example of a name brand item, say purses, or to be more fair to both sexes we'll look at clothing. Suddenly the Levis at the local department store for $20 is not good enough we need the $150+ designer jeans. If we look at that example that would mean that we spend 87% more than what our mom and dad spent on an item. That is an extreme example, however the next time you go and purchase an item think about that percentage, or even 50%...I'd be willing to bet your spending thousand more that your parents did.
Lastly, another item we had discussed was how the format of companies has changed. By this I mean retirement benefits, health benefits, and general care for their employees. This may have not been as instrumental in the financial arena, depending on which companies you are comparing. However, the security and the stability a good job provides seems limited in today's world!
Personally I think all of these have affected me in form or another, not to mention many others that will need to wait for another post. You get the jist about the financial woes of living paycheck to paycheck. I've got to be honest though I am one lucky SOB to be living the life I am ...so God bless!!!
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